Sofia Maul promotes the first tale of the Mozambican ant to 1st and 2nd graders, raising awareness of the need to defend the environment
Celebrating both the fact that it has been awarded the Eco-school flag and the 9th anniversary of AIDGLOBAL, on November 7, Massamá 1 Primary School held two sessions of the tale “Juju the Ant in the City of Papayas”. Through the voice of storyteller Sofia Maul, more than 80 pupils from the 1st and 2nd grades, aged between 6 and 8, experienced the adventures of Juju the ant to save the City of Papayas, which made them aware of the issues of water shortages and pollution. Juju is a Mozambican ant, who arrived dressed in a capulana, and who transmits to the little ones warnings and ways to contribute to Global Citizenship, being an ecological ant herself. 2014 was a busy year for the Mozambican ant who came to Portugal. On February 22, the Palácio das Galveias hosted the launch of the second story of this Movement “A Formiga Juju e o Sapo Karibu” by Margarida Botelho, writer and illustrator. The following month, on March 15, the Papa Estórias Club performed the same story using Chinese shadows at the José Saramago Library in Loures. Sofia Maul and Adelaide Rodrigues, a teacher and AIDGLOBAL volunteer, promoted “A Formiga Juju na Cidade das Papaias” (Juju the Ant in the City of Papayas) with students from Escola Básica nº 1 de Massamá and Escola Básica de Xutaria, on March 25 and April 3, respectively. The Papa Estórias group once again performed the second tale of Juju the Ant on April 3 at Massamá Primary School No. 1. On the weekend of May 31 and June 1, as part of the Lisbon Book Fair, and continuing the partnership created in 2013 with Leya Publishing, the Juju Ant Movement grew through the hands of new “ambassadors”. António Gouveia, storyteller with the international group Contrabandistas, and José Candeias, presenter/filmmaker for Antena 1, joined AIDGLOBAL in promoting the values of Global Citizenship, through staged readings of the tale of Formiga Juju, painting activities and stimulating creativity, accompanied by “Juju's Tchova”. Also at the Book Fair, on June 13, it was the turn of the Lisbon Libraries (BLX) to welcome Sofia Maul to address the issue of non-discrimination in a fun way, by reading the story “Juju the Ant and Karibu the Frog”. On June 5, Sofia Maul hosted three sessions of the short story “A Formiga Juju e o Sapo Karibu” (The Juju Ant and the Karibu Frog) for the students of Catujal Primary School, as part of the activities of Development Education Week. The tales of the Mozambican ant by Cristiana Pereira, Walter Zand and Mia Temporário gave rise to the Juju Ant Movement, a civic movement to promote literacy and creative expression, founded in Mozambique in February 2012. Through the publication of children's stories and the organization of educational activities, the movement promotes the spread of values such as solidarity, diversity, creativity, unity, inclusion, participation, environmental protection and citizenship. Encouraged by the strong message this ant conveys, AIDGLOBAL has taken on the promotion of the Juju Ant Movement in Portugal.
